Professor Kehlani is here to serve up an R&B history lesson. The musician stars in the Wednesday (Feb. 18) episode of Celebrity Substitute, as the Grammy-winning singer pulled up to P.S. 33 in New York City to teach the elementary school kids a thing or two about rhythm and blues.
Kehlani is a strong believer that more children need to be listening to R&B growing up because “it helps you express big feelings.” They added, “It taught me that I can be vulnerable and in a lot of cases, it teaches certain people that aren’t always offered the space to be vulnerable to be vulnerable.”
The two-time Grammy winner met the students, who peppered her with questions about fame, life as a celebrity and whether they knew Michael Jackson. One student even tried to pry the name of the former lover that Kehlani wrote “Out the Window” about, but she wouldn’t spill the tea.
The singer harped on the importance of three areas of R&B: groove and sound, soul and motion, as well as the difference between riffs and runs.
The kids also got suited up in neon threads — giving off the vibes of a ’90s R&B video — and brought their rambunctious energy to film an alternate edition of the “Out the Window” visual alongside Kehlani. As a mother, the star expressed plenty of patience working with the children.
“Out the Window” arrived in November and reached No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100, while cracking the top 10 of the Rhythmic Airplay and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts.
After picking up their first two Grammy wins thanks to “Folded,” Kehlani looks to parlay her momentum into the Oakland native’s highly anticipated album, which is set to be released in late March.
Watch the full episode of Celebrity Substitute below.
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